Method and apparatus for transferring thin fibrous structures



April '9, 195'? J. pk. CLARK :r'm.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING THIN F'iBROUS STRUCTURES 5- Sheots-Sheat 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1951 ATTORNEYS.

April 9,. 1957 J. q'A. cLARK ETAL 2,788,294

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING THIN FIBROUS STRUCTURES Filed Oct. 20, 1951 v s Shgts-Sheet 2 INVENTORS:

AT 70RNE Y5.

April 9, 1957 J. DA. CLARK ET AL 2,788,294

' METHOD mo APPARATUS roa waausrmaamc 'mm FIBROUS swauc'rumss Filed Oct. 20, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet s BYWM ATTORNEYS.

MlE'lilfllQll) AND ARPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING THW FIBROUS STRUCTURES Blames dA. Clark, Longview, Wash, and Bror E. Anderson, Park-Ridge, lllg a'ssignors to A. B. Dick Company, Niles, lill., a corporation of Illinois Application (Bctoher 2d, 1951, Serial No. 252,3e2

13 Claims. (Cl. 117--140) This inventionrelates to the manufacture of thin webs of fibrous material and it relates more particularly to the method and meansfor handling same during manufacture.

Thin webs of dry fibers, whether fabricated by an air deposition system of the type" described in the copending application of James dA. Clark, Ser. No. 61,674 filed on November 23, 1.948, or by the usual systems employing a battery of picking and carding machines, generally have the fibers arranged in a loose, fluffy, weak mass substantially incapable of maintaining its own weight. Because of the weakness of the web during the early stages of its manufacture, problems arise in transferring the web through successive operations, as in the transfer of the web from the wire on which it is formed, in the case of air deposition, or the conveyor on which it is collected" in the carding process, to other elements by which it 'is treated to impart greater strength. With webs of substantial thickness, having sufficient strength for handling, the same problems do not arise.

It is an object of thisinvention to provide a system for handling newly formed webs of fibrous material of the non-woven type and it is a related object to provide apparatus for accomplishing same without disrupting or disturbing the continuity of the web or the arrangements of the fibers therein. It is a further object of the inven tion to provide means of handling newly formed webs whereby lower density papers may be produced than by any existing paper making process.

Another object is to provide a method and apparatus for couching a thin web of dry fibrous material from the element upon which it is being formed and continuously advanced and to provide means for incorporating a binder in the web to impart strength thereto.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, an embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings in' which-- Figure 1 is a schematic sectional elevatio'nalview of the elements and the arrangement thereof? embodying fea tures of this invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the rubberblanketed drum at the time contact ismade with the web to be transferred thereon;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the portion of the drum shown Figurel but at alater stage of its cycle of rotation;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view showing'a scction of the drum at the point of moisture application;

Figure 5 is an elevational view of the mounting for one end of the adjustable squeeze rolloperating in cooperation with the drum;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary. elevationalview showingthe arrangement of elements of the mountingassembly shown in Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a schematic view of a modifiedrsystem embodying features of this invention for handling deposited webs of dry fibrous material.

In Figure l, 10 represents an endless forming wire in the form of a screen which" operates about rolls 11 and 12 and over an idler roll'13positioned a distance in advance of lower couch 1'01111 and at a higher level for the purpose of increasing the area of contact or wipe between the screen It) and'theperipheral surface ofupper couch roll 14 preferably fabricatedwith a rubber blanket or slee e about the periphery thereof. The peripheral surface of the upper couchroll contacts the screen in the areas between the idler roll 13 and the lower roll 11. Roll 11 is also a driving roll operated from a power source through a connecting" chain 16. It is preferred for best operationthat rollll be positioned slightly ahead of the axis for dfum:14butin contact therewith to provide pressure at the nip as the web passes therebetween. More specificallywith rolls 11 being dimensioned about 12 inches in diameter and drums 14 about 16 inches in diameter, excellent results are secured when roll it is from%l /z inches ahead of the center of roll 14. Placing the roll 11 ahead also provides for greater wrap around while still maintaining pressure contact.

Fibers in a felted layer 17 are continuously deposited upon the surface of theformingwire by a. forming head, such as the unit B shown in Figure 7; located above the forming wire between the driving roll Hand the raising roll 13. A suitable forming head is fully described in the copcnding application Ser; No. 61,674. Suffice it to say that substantially separated dry-fibers in uniform distribution aredeposited by the forming head in continuous fashion across thesurface of the forming wire in the fiber depositingzone located below the forming head. The thickness of thedeposited' web can be varied in accordance with the linear speed of the forming wire and the sizeand' number of openings in the plate, and it can be varied from fairly thick board to webs so thin as to be substantiallyinvisible tothe' naked eye with the fibers in the web heterogeneously arranged in interfelted relation. Naturally some integrityresults fromthe interfelted relation between fibers but when the fibers are short and the layer is thin, the amount of strength inherent therein is usually insufficient to support itself and therefore considerable assistance" must be given to the web in subsequenthandlinguntil some binding agent is embodied therein to impart self-sufiiciency. The process of transfer of a web from the forming Wire to the next step is generally referred to by papermairers as couching from the manner in which the upper couch roll or drum 14; rests on the forming wire;

It has been found. that, under normal conditions, a thin Web of the type described has" greater adherence or attraction for a smooth. surfacethan for' a surface which is rougher incharacter and that the greaterthedifference between the surfaces the. greater" will be the attraction and ease of transfer. Thus, if thesurface of the element upon which it isde'sired totransfer the web is substantially smoother as compared to the surface upon which the web is carried, the. web will tend automatically to transfer from the rougher' surface to the smoother surface. Recognition of. this principle provides the basis for an expedient and effectivemeans for transfer of the thin webs of thetype described from one carrier to another but further difficulties arise when it is desired to effect multiple transfers often necessary in treatment of fibrous structures of the type described. Thus, it is a further object of this invention to provide new and novel means for accomplishingsuch multiple transfers, as will hereinafter be described.

This is accomplished. in accordance with this invention by an arrangement. wherein the-peripheral surface of drum l4 is-provided with a rel-atively high: degree of surface roughness but apparent smoothness is introduced into the surface by filling the depressions in the surface with a liquid 18, such as water, in advance of contact between the surface of the drum and the web carried on the forming wire or other surface from which the web is to be transferred. The surface of the drum 14 having the depressions therein substantially filled by liquid presents a relatively smooth surface which, upon contact with the web carried on the forming wire, causes the web to transfer from the forming wire onto the periphery of the drum. During subsequent travel of the drum with the web on the periphery thereof, the liquid 18 filling the depressions 19 is absorbed into the fibrous web so that the carrying surface of the drum 14 thereafter presents its normal high degree of surface roughness as compared to the next drum 20 onto which the web is to be transferred, which in the illustrated device comprises a heated metallic drum having a relatively smooth surface of high finish.

Drum 14 which is formed of rigid material such as steel or the like is preferably dimensioned to have a relatively large diameter, such as two or three feet, and is preferably provided with a covering 15 about the periphery thereof. Suitable material for use as a covering may include rubber blanket or sheeting formed of plastic, felt or other fabric. The drum itself or the blanketed layer may be fabricated or premolded to a predetermined pattern or design embodying surface roughness, such as a knurled surface or a surface molded into a waflie pattern. Alternatively, the drum may be formed with a smooth rubber covering which relies upon a roughener applied intermittently to introduce surface roughness. This may be done by the saw-toothed plate 21 pivoted on rod 22 to urge the saw-toothed edge into operative engagement with the surface of the drum throughout its length. When not required, the saw-toothed blade member may be tilted out of contact with the drum. In another form of drum, the smooth rubber covering may be faced with a fine wire mesh, applied either as a sleeve or as an endless belt passing about the drum and aligned therewith by suitable rollers. With sufiicient sturdy and accurate construction, it is possible to make use of a metallic drum having surface roughness molded or knurled therein or provided with a fine wire arranged about its periphery. It is desirable to center-grind the peripheral surface of the drum 14 upon which the web is to be received in order to present a uniform concentric surface, otherwise couching and web transfer will be handicapped.

Application of liquid, such as water 18, should be made in advance of contact of the surface of the drum 14 with the web 17 and it may be applied any time after the couched web has been transferred from the drum 14- to the hot roll 20. As shown in Figure l and Figure 4, suitable means for wetting out the surface of the drum includes one or more water supply pipes 23 arranged in spaced relation across the drum. It is desirable to flood the surface with an amount of liquid in excess of that required to fill the voids or depressions. For this purpose, water or other liquid is introduced in an amount to maintain a pool 24 in the crotch between the surface of the drum 14 and a metal squeeze roll 25 urged into contact therewith to effect a substantial sealing relation. Ordinary damming members may be provided in the lateral end portions to confine the pool of liquid to within a predetermined length of the drum. A new and novel arrangement preferred over the damming system described comprises the use of air jets issuing from nozzles 26 suitably arranged at the end portions of the crotch to direct streams of air 27 inwardly toward the center of the crotch and preferably perpendicularly to the nip. The air damming means described is particularly advantageous where the pool is also intended to rinse the surface of the drum for removal of any water soluble bonding agent and lint which remains thereon after the web has been removed. Under such circumstances, it is desirable simultaneously to remove a substantial portion of the liquid constantly to refresh the pool and for this purpose suction tubes 26 are provided with the suction ends in spaced relation with the nip to withdraw liquid above a predetermined level.

As illustrated in the drawings, the squeeze roll 25 comprises an elongate cylinder dimensioned to span the width of the drum and formed with a smooth metallic surface so that occasional lint or other fiber left by the web on the drum will be picked up on the squeeze roll for subsequent removal upon engagement with a doctor blade 27 swingably mounted normally to cause the edge to scrape the surface of the squeeze roll while rotating in the counterclockwise direction in surface contact with the drum 14. The squeeze roll is carried upon a shaft 28 journalled at its ends for rotational movement in a slide block 29 mounted for endwise sliding movement in the direction toward and away from the drum 14 between frame plates 30 and 31. Alternatively, the squeeze roll may be mounted on swinging arms or in any other well known manner for adjusting same in the direction toward and away from the drum.

By way of illustration, but not by way of limitation, the specific mounting illustrated will be described. As shown more clearly in Figures 5 and 6, the innermost frame plate 30 is provided with an elongate slot 32 through which the shaft 28 extends to slide block 29 to permit radial adjustment of the slide block with the squeeze roll in the direction toward and away from the drum. For adjustment of the blocks in the direction to bring the squeeze roll into operative engagement with the surface of the drum, an abutment 33 extending upwardly from the rearward end of the slide block 29 is adapted to be engaged by the peripheral surface of a disc member 34 eccentrically mounted on pin 35 supported between the spaced ends of frame plates 30 and 31. The pin is provided with a handle 36 for manually rocking the disc 34 about its pivot for actuation of the block 29 in the direction towards the drum in opposition to the force of coil spring 37 constantly urging the slide block to move in the opposite direction under control of the disc member 34. An elongate slot 38 in the extension 33 is operatively engaged by a pin 39 fixed between the frame plates to limit the extent of forward and rearward movement of the slide block relative thereto.

Movement of the slide block in the direction away from the drum is constantly urged by the spring member 37 having its forward end bearing against a depending portion 40 of a slide plate 41 shiftable relative to the block while the other end of the spring 37 bears against a ledge 42 depending from the forward edge portion of the slide block 29. The coil spring 37 is arranged about an elongate pin 43 which extends through an opening 44 in the depending ledge and is provided with a knurled head i5 on the end portion extending therethrough while the for ward end portion of the pin is threaded, as at id, for engagement with the depending portion 40 of plate 41. Turning movement of the pin in one direction or the other operates to adjust the spaced relation between plate 41 and the slide block 29 thereby to adjust the extent of movement of the slide block 29 in the direction toward the drum 14, making it possible to modify the pressure by which the roller 25 engages the surface of the drum to increase or decrease the sealing relation and modify the amount of moisture permitted to remain on the surface of the drum.

Under certain circumstances it is sufiicient to rely upon a single wetting system and squeeze roll of the type described to effect the desired wetting out of the surface of the drum, removal of lint and to wash any resinous binder which may pass through the web and be attached to the surface of the drum. If such resinous binder, the application of which will hereinafter be described, is

essence allowed to remain or build up upon the surface of the drum, sticking would soon result and dilficulty would be encountered in effecting the desired web transfer. In order to insure good cleaning and proper wetting of the drum, it is preferred to make use of more than one such wetting unit, such for example as the two substantially identical systems illustrated in Figure 1 and arranged to contact the drum in consecutive order in advance of engagement with the surface of the web. The last squeeze roll should be adjusted to remove substantially all excess water from the surface of the drum to the end that the surface merely appears to be damp while the depressions or crevices remain substantially completely filled to provide an apparent surface smoothness.

Mounted in spaced relation with shaft 50 which rotatably mounts drum 1a is another shaft 51 which mounts a steel surfaced cylinder 52 of substantially the same width but preferably of much larger diameter than drum 14 and which is adapted to rotate in surface contact there with at a point in advance of the wetting units heretofore described. The cylinder 52 is suitably heated from the interior by conventional means, such as by steam, Dowtherm, or by electrical heaters 53 or cartridges, the heating means being limited to systems capable of temperature control as by thermostat 54. This temperature is chosen to be sufficient to evaporate the water or other fluid absorbed into the web. It is not necessary that all of the liquid be removed but it is desirable to reduce the moisture down to less than 15-20 percent. Although it is desirable to complete the resinous cure in the time that the web is in contact with the heated drum, it is not essential so long as the binder is advanced sufiiciently to provide its desired function. Higher temperatures may be used if it is desired to achieve resinous cure. However the temperature and speed of the drum should not be such as to flash off the liquid and diluent upon contact with the hot roll and cause disturbance of the fibers in the Web.

Once resinous binder is applied and cured by the heated cylinder 52, the fibers become bonded one to another sufiicient to impart enough strength to the web to permit it to be advanced independent of any support. From the heated drum 52, the bonded web 55 is passed under roll 56 and over an applicator roll 57 where additional binder may be applied from spray nozzles 58 onto the surface of the web opposite that to which the binder had been applied while on drum 14. From the roll 57, the web is advanced about another heated metal cylinder 59 with the surface of the web to which the binder had been applied in contact with the roll to drive off the diluent and set the binder. Thereafter the web may be advanced for subsequent treatment or wound upon a spindle on for packaging or the like.

in operation, a thin layer 17 of fibers is continuously laid down on the surface of the forming wire as it travels under the forming head of the fiber depositing machine. As the forming wire travels over the lifting roll 13 toward the lower couch roll 11, the web is engaged by the wetted surface of the rubber blanketed upper couch roll or drum 14 traveling in the same direction as the forming Wire.

Because of the smooth surface presented by the wet or water filled rough surfaced drum coupled with the increased area of contact occasioned by the raised location of the lift roll with respect to the lower couch roll, the web preferentially adheres to the surface of the drum and transfers thereto.

While the web is supported on the drum, a binder preferably formulated of an aqueous composition of a thermoreactive resin is sprayed from nozzles 55 onto the outer face of the web 17. A suitable binder may include resinous materials such as melamine formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde or a phenol formaldehyde dissolved, suspended or emulsified in water or other liquid. By way of illustration, application of a 31() percent solution of melamine formaldehyde resinous binder composition may be made at this point at the rate of ten to thirty gallons per hour for a web 48 inches in width and traveling at the rate of about 300 feet per minute. Instead of the described resinous binders, other bonding agents of the type polyvinyl or furfuryl alcohol, casein, glue and the like may be used.

While the Web is in surface contact with the drum, the water or other fluid contained on the surface to fill the depressions of the roughened surface becomes absorbed into the fibrous structure so that surface roughness of the drum reappears. With the water removed, the drum presents a surface which is substantially rougher than that of the heated metal cylinder which is subsequently contacted to the end that the web will preferentially adhere to the smoother surfaced metal cylinder and transfer thereto upon contact. It is believed that the presence of the liquid adhesive sprayed onto the outer surface of the web and brought into contacting relation with the heated cylinder imparts additional attraction causing such transfer.

The surface temperature of the heated cylinder 52 may be from to 220 F. but is preferentially maintained at about 212 F. The temperature must be low enough to prevent the surface from boiling off the water or other liquid on the sheet so rapidly as to prevent it from adhering. In order to obviate adherence to such a degree that removal of the web is diflicult, it is preferred to chrome plate and surface treat the heated cylinder as by the application of a lubricant such as an organosilicon fluid, a stearate, or war: or the like.

It has been found that slight shrinkage of the web occurs during travel about the heated cylinder. As a result, it is desirable to operate the cylinder 2% at a slightly lower peripheral speed than that of the drum 14. It has also been found desirable to run the drum 14 at a slightly greater linear speed than that of the forming wire. It may be that the slight amount of drafting which results tensions the fibers to achieve better surface contact for couching or that some other conditions are introduced which enhance web transfer. For example, excellent couching is secured when the rubber-surfaced drum travels at a linear speed of about three percent faster than the forming wire.

In some instances operation is improved by the incorporation of a wetting agent of the non-ionic, non-foaming type, such as dioctyl esters of sodium sulfosuccinate, sodium lauryl sulphate, substituted aromatic sulfonates, sulfonated ethers and the like, in the resinous binder as well as in the fluid applied onto the surface of the drum for filling the depressions and to impart an apparent smoothness.

From the heated cylinder 52 the web, which now embodies suificient strength to support its own weight, is led about the roll 56 and over roll 57 where additional binder, if desired, can be applied onto the surface of the Web not previously treated. At this point. either a roll coater or a spray can be used. The web may then be caused to travel about the second heated cylinder for removing the diluent and setting the binder following Which it is wound upon a spindle ready for finishing operation such as rewinding or sheeting. Instead of threading the Web about the additional rol-ls for application of increased binder, the web may be led directly from the first heated drum onto the windup with suitable tensioning rolls or calendering rolls in between. This produces a sheet that is smooth on one side and fuzzy on the other.

As the rubber-surfaced drum 14 rotates beyond a point where the web is transferred to the heated cylinder, water is applied onto the surface to form a pool 24 at the crotch from between the squeeze roll 25 and the drum 14 so as to refill depressions 19 with water to impart an apparent. smoothness to the surface. Those occasional fibers that are left on the surface of the drum adhere to the smooth metallic surface of the squeeze roll and are removed therefrom by the scraper or doctor blade 27 and are deposited into a suitable collector box. After the first wetting, the surface of the drum may be contacted with the serrated blade 22 to introduce additional roughness in its surface or to loosen any material found embedded therein after which it may be caused to pass through a second wetting system to insure proper filling of the voids and remove any foreign material not removed by the first roll. By the time the surface of the drum reaches the area of contact with the web, it is clean and dampened.

in the modification shown, in Figure 7, the concepts of this invention are embodied in a system whereby a web 61 of dry fibers deposited by the forming head 3 upon an endless forming wire 62 transfers from the forming wire to a pick-up wire 63 by reason of the fact that the forming wire is of larger mesh size than the pick-up wire, or that the pick-up wire is wetted, or both. The attractiveness of the pick-up wire 63 for the web is further apparently increased by application to the wire in advance of contact with the Web of a binder composition applied by roller coater 64.

The pick-up wire 63 is in the form of an endless belt which travels about upper couch roll 65 closely spaced to a lower couch roll 66 about which the forming wire 62 travels. This causes the pick-up wire to engage the surface of the web 6ft as it is carried by the forming wire and to provide an area of contact sufficient to enable transfer of the web because of preferential attraction for the smoother surface of the picloup wire. As the web travels from the pick-up wire about an adjacent roll 67, the outer face is sprayed with a binder composition 68 thereby to treat the Web in advance of cure of the binder. From the roll 67, the web travels with the pick-up wire about a heated metal cylinder 69 of the type previously described which functions simultaneously to force the bonding agent through the web and drive off the diluent and then to cure the resinous binder. From this point, the web is sufficiently strong to permit separate handling so that it can be led from the pick-up wire for subsequent reeling.

It will be understood that a number of changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement and operation without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In the method of handling a thin dry fibrous web while it is incapable of self-support for transfer from the carrier upon which it is dry felted to a second carrier for processing, the steps of advancing the fibrous web on the first carrier into contacting relation with a transfer surface having depressions throughout the surface to present a surface rougher than that of the second carrier, wetting the transfer surface with a fluid in amounts substantially to fill the depressions in advance of contact with the web whereby the transfer surface, when pre sented to the web, is characterized by a surface which is smoother than that of the first carrier, advancing the transfer surface in the same direction with the first carrier upon contact whereby the web automatically transfers from the said carrier onto the transfer surface, permitting the fluid on the transfer surface to become ab sorbed into the fibrous web whereby the moist web is thereafter supported on the transfer surface now having a degree of surface roughness higher than that of the secand carrier, and advancing the transfer surface and its adherent web into contacting relation with the smoother surface of the second carrier traveling in the same direction therewith whereby the web transfers from the rougher transfer surface to the second carrier.

2. The method of handling a fibrous Web as claimed in claim 1 which includes the additional step of moving the transfersurface ata linear speed slightly greater than that of the linear speed of the carrier.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 which includes the additional step of distorting the carrier immediately in advance of contact with the transfer surface in the direction towards the surface to increase the length of contact.

4. In the method of handling a fibrous web which is incapable of self-support for transfer to an intermediate transfer surface havinga rough surface from a carrier to another carrier which has a relatively smooth surface for processing comprising advancing the carrier with the fibrous web on the-surface thereof into contacting relation with the transfer surface having depressions throughout to present a high degree of surface roughness, wetting the 'ransfer surface with fluid in amounts sufficient to fill the depressions in advance of contact with the Web whereby the transfer surface, when presented to the web, is characterized by an apparently smooth surface but which is reverted to its natural roughness for presentation to the smooth surface of the other carrier upon absorption of the fluid from the depressions into the fibrous web which transfers from the carrier onto the transfer surface, advancing the transfer surface for movement in the same direction with the carrier upon contact whereby the Web automatically transfers from the carrier onto the transfer surface and contacting the web on the transfer surface by the other smooth surfaced other carrier traveling in the same direction at the point of contact subsequent to the absorption of the liquid from the depressions of the transfer surface into the web whereby the transfer surface is rough by comparison to the smooth surface of the other carrier and the web automatically transfers from the transfer surface to the smooth surface of the other carrier.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4 which includes the additional step of applying a binder composition to the outer face of the web during passage on the transfer surface.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 which includes the additional step of heating the transfer surface to a temperature for driving off the fluid and setting the binder.

7. The method as claimed in claim 4 which includes the additional step of moving the transfer surface at a linear speed which is slightly greater than that of the carrier. 7

8. The method as claimed in claim 4 which includes the additionalstep of moving the surface of the other carrier at a linear speed slightly less than that of the transfer surface.

9. Apparatus for transferring a fibrous web incapable of self-support from one carrier having a rough surface through an intermediate carrier to another carrier having a smooth surface comprising an intermediate carrier having depressions throughout the peripheral surface thereof to present a surface having a high degree of roughness, the carrier having the web thereon for transfer being positioned to contact a portion of the peripheral surface of the intermediate carrier in advance of the other smooth surfaced carrier, means for applying a fluid onto the peripheral surface of the intermediate carrier in advance of contact with the first carrier in amounts sufficient to fill the depressions whereby the surface portion of the intermediate carrier when presented to the first carrier for contacting relation therewith is characterized by an apparently smooth surface but from which the fluid is absorbed into the web upon transfer from the first carrier to the intermediate carrier to revert the surface of the intermediate carrier to it natural roughness prior to presentation of the surface of the intermediate carrier into contact with the peripheral surface of the other smooth carrier whereby the web automatically transfers from the intermediate carrier to the smooth carrier upon contact.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 which contains means for applying a fluid binder composition onto the outer face of the web during passage on the periphery of the intermediate transfer carrier from the point of contact with the rough carrier to the smooth carrier.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which means are provided for heating the smooth carrier to a temperature for eliminating the fluid.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which the intermediate carrler comprises a roller having a surface layer of a resilient material and which includes means for contacting the periphery of the roller for roughening the surface thereof.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which the intermediate carrier comprises a roller and in which the means for applying the fluid onto the roughened surface of the intermediate roller comprises outlets which direct a stream of water onto the peripheral surface of the roller in laterally spaced apart portions in amounts in excess of that necessary to fill the depressions, means for confining the excess amount of water to form a pool in contacting relation with the peripheral surface of the transfer roller across the entire width thereof, and strike-off means in contacting relation with the peripheral surface of the transfer roller beyond the applicator means for removing water in excess of that necessary to fill the depressions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,719,647 Booth July 2, 1929 1,721,933 Swaim July 23, 1929 1,783,878 Wenzel Dec. 2, 1930 1,843,770 Karls et al. Feb. 2, 1932 1,962,627 Valentine et al June 12, 1934 2,420,035 Fairbairn May 6, 1947 2,500,665 Courtright Mar. 14, 1950 2,528,793 Secrist Nov. 7, 1950 2,567,186 Cross et a1 Sept. 11, 1951 

1. IN THE METHOD OF HANDING A THIN DRY FIBROUS WEB WHILE IT IS INCAPABLE OF SELF-SUPPORT FOR TRANSFER FROM THE CARRIER UPON WHICH IT IS DRY FELT TO A SECOND CARRIER FOR PROCESSING, THE STEPS OF ADVANCING THE FIBROUS WEB ON THE FIRST CARRIER INTO CONTACTING RELATION WITH A TRANSFER SURFACE HAVING DEPRESSIONS THROUGHOUT THE SURFACE TO PRESENT A SURFACE ROUGHER THAN THAT OF THE SECOND CARRIER, WETTING THE TRANSFER SURFACE WITH A FLUID IN AMOUNTS SUBSTANTIALLY TO FILL THE DEPRESSIONS IN ADVANCE OF CONTACT WITH THE WEB WHEREBY THE TRANSFER SURFACE, WHEN PRESENTED TO THE WEB, IS CHARACTERIZED BY A SURFACE WHICH IS SMOOTHER THAN THAT OF THE FIRST CARRIER, ADVANCING THE TRANSFER SURFACE IN THE SAME DIRECTION WITH THE FIRST CARRIER UPON CONTACT WHEREBY THE WEB AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFERS FROM THE SAID CARRIER ONTO THE TRANSFER SURFACE, PERMITTING THE FLUID ON THE TRANSFER SURFACE TO BECOME ABSORBED INTO THE FIBROUS WEB WHEREBY THE MOIST WEB IS THEREAFTER SUPPORTED ON THE TRANSFER SURFACE NOW HAVING A DEGREE OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE SECOND CARRIER, AND ADVANCING THE TRANSFER SURFACE AND ITS ADHERENT WEB INTO CONTACTING RELATION WITH THE SMOOTHER SURFACE OF THE SECOND CARRIER TRAVELING IN THE SAME DIRECTION THEREWITH WHEREBY THE WEB TRANSFERS FROM THE ROUGHER TRANSFER SURFACE TO THE SECOND CARRIER. 